Jessica Chastain linked to True Detective role

Zero Dark Thirty actress Jessica Chastain has been linked with the second season ofTrue Detective, following rumours series creator Nic Pizzolatto is looking for a female duo to front the next series.

Everyone from Brad Pitt to Ellen Page and (as the internet joked) the cat from Inside Llewyn Davis have been tipped to replace Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in the critically-acclaimed HBO show, which is set to return in 2015.

Now the Nerdist claims that, according to sources, Chastain has been offered a lead role but has yet to accept, with representatives for the actress declining to comment.

She surely would be delighted to however, pending scheduling arrangements, given it is one of the hottest jobs in Hollywood right now.

Pizzolato reportedly recently told The Wrap that the plot of season two might not be a murder mystery but see the detectives chasing an elusive criminal instead.

There would no doubt still be murder and death along the way, but this suggests the case might not be murder-centric this time around.

He added in an interview with HitFix that the new season is about "bad men, hard women and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system."